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CONTENTS Pre-GondTertiaryQuaternaryLowerMesozoicIntroductionFieldDeputation/Training/StudyResearchTrainingAbstractsPapersHonoursTheLibraryTechnicalFounder'sPublicationsSponsoredMuseumVisitorsTheRepresentationHerbariumTheBuilding WorkGondwanas Governing Staff wanas PublishedBudget and andprovided of AssistanceDay Theses CollaborativeLectures Awards for Body on to1969·70 Committees/Boards outsiders. to and presented outsiders. AbroadTheResearch Finance at Symposia/ Committee 60615558304163626557364559534648546821 Page XVIIIXXIIXVIIXIVXIIIXVIVIIIXIXXXIXIIVIIXXXVIXXIVIXVI IV4.3.2.5. II Papers1. published by the staff III Conferences! Meetings etc. I. INTRODUCTION Under the inspiring guidance of Professor Birbal Sahni, F. R. S. a Palaeobotanical Society was founded at Lucknow in May 1946 and registered under the Societies Rt:ginration Act (XXI of 1860) in June 1946. By a resolution passed on 10th September 1946 the Gove, ning Body of the Palaeobotanical Society established an Institute of Palaeobotany and appointed Professor Sahni as its first Director in an honorary capacity. Pending the acquisition of a permanent home the work of the Institute was carried on in the Department of Botany at the University of Lucknow. In September 1948 the Institute received from the Government of Uttar Pradesh the generous gift of an estate comprising a large bungalow on 3t acres of land at 53 University Road, Lucknow. Soon plans were made for erecting a lIew modeIt'n building for the Institute. On 3rd April 1949 its foundation 5tolle w 1S laid by Pandit Jawaharlal N hru who. besides being the Prime Minister of India, was at that time also the Minister of Scientific Research and Natural Resources. Wi,hin a week of this ceremony the young Institute suffered an irreparable Joss in the sudden and untimely passing away of its Founder Director, Professor Birbal Sahni. The most apt tribute was paid to him when in OCLOber 19-!-9 the Governing Body of the Palaeobotanical Society named the Institute after him as the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany. Subsequent to Professor Sahni's sudden passing away, on 11th April 1949 the Govrrning Body of the Palaeobotanical Society au tho• rised his wife, Mrs. Savitri Sahni, to discharge all the duties of the Director of the {nstitu'e in addition to her own duties as the President of the Society. In May 1950 Dr. R. V. Sitholey. Assistant Director was appointed as Officer-in-charge for carrying out the current duties of the Director under the supervIsIon of the Presiden t. In 1951 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) included the Institute in its Technical Assistance Pro• gramme, under which Professor O. A. H¢eg of the University of Oslo, Norway, served as its Director from October 1951 to the beginning of August 1953. A short time after Professor H¢eg's departure, Dr. K. R. Surange was made the Officer-in-charge under the supervision of the President, Governing Body of the Palaeobotanical Society. In October 1959 Mrs. Savitri Sahni, in addition to being the President of the Society also became the President of the Institute and was incharge of the administration. At the same time Dr. Surange was appointed as Director having charge of academic and research activities. At the end of 1967 it was felt that a stage had come when the Pal• aeobotanical Society should function purely as a professional scientific body and Institute as a separate institution. A new constitution was framed under which the Birbal Sahni 1nstitute of Palaeobotany was re• gistered as a separate body on 9th July 1969. In November 1969 the Palaebotanial Society transferred and delivered possession of the Insti• tute to this new body whereby the 13irbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobo• tany came under the management of a new Governing Body with Professor T. S. Sadasivan of the University of Madras as its Chairman. The present report pertains to the year the Institute started as an independent institution and covers its activities from April 1969 to March 1970. II. RESEARCH 1. PRE-GONDWANA 1.1 Microfossils from Rampura .•. Leio,phaeridia, Pr%leiosphaeridium, Retisph, ridium, 7asmaniles and an algal remain Gloeocapsomorpha were recorded belonging to the Kaimur Series (Vindhyans) Madhya Pradesh. Age of the Vindhyans h<ls been discussed in the light of these discoveries. 2 1.2 Devonian sporeS A rich assemblage of Acritarchs and spores has been recorded for the first time from palynological samples ranging from Silurian to Devonian deposits. 2. LOWER GONDWANAS 2.1 Glossopteris flora-morphological and stratigraphical studies. 2.1.1 Mahanadi Valley Handappa, Orissa Some new male and female fructifications referable to the Glos• sopteridales have been recorded. The male fructifications are Glossotheca utkalensis gen. et sp. nov., Eretmonia utkalensis sp. nov., E. hinjridaensis sp. novo and E. karanpurensis sp. novo In Glossotheca naked sporangia in aggregates are borne on ultimate branch!ets and six of the aggregates are carried on a common pedicel attached to the stalk of a fertile leaf. In all the three species of Eretmonia the sporangial clusters are only two in number. The female fructification Lidgeltonia indica carried stalked, naked ovules on 'he futile leaf stalk. Morphology of female fructifica• tions Scutum and Cistella is explained Scutum is a compact cone, with ovules carried on a small, thin scale leaves. In Cistella the ovules are devoid of scales and they are perhaps embedded on a mulbery like fleshy head of the cone. It is concluded that southern hemisphere Glossopteridales is a group of extinct gymnosperms; although showing remote relationship with Pteridosperms, distinct enough to stand on its own as a separate group. The variety of reproductive organs show that in Glossopteridales we are perhaps dealing with more than one order. 2.1.2 South Karanpura Four species of Gangamopteris and some species of Glossopteris have been recorded from a shale bed about 70 feet above Argada (S' Seam. The dominance of Gangamopteris indicates the Karharbari age. Twelve species of Glossopteris, out of which three are new, have been described 3 from tbe sbales of Argada Seam, Lower Nakkari Seam and Upper Nakkari Seam. Glossopteris fusa sp. novo is di~tinguished by the evanescent nature of midrib and closely spaced elongate meshes of equal size. G. pftiolala sp. novo is distinguished 1::y a petiolate lec.f and closely spactci, more or le"s straight secondary veins which form narrow palygonal meshes. G. haranpurensis sp. novo is distinguished by its large sizE', arched secondary veim which run straight to the margin and form open hexagonal meshes of equal size. The study of a large number of impressions of Sphellopter;'s fronds from the farakar stage reveals that Sphenopteris pol)"morpho Feistrn.) 1881 and S. hlighesi Arher, 1905 are homonyms. S. poi.Jmorpha is emended and retained on the basis of nomenclatural priority. 2.1.3 Rajmahal Hills Some megafossils from the Bansloi valley have been recorded from localities mapped by BaJJ as ,be Dubrajpurs. Tbe Dubrajpur group had earlier been either included in the Lower Gondwanas or equated with the ?\lahadevas. Sandstone and shale beds overlying the Lower Gondwana and referred to as the Dubrajpur have yielded plant f('lssils characteristic of the RajrndhaI Intertrappean Series. Hence it has been suggested that the name Dubrajpur be replaced by Intertrappean Raj. mahal beds for beds overlying the Lower Gondwana sedim~nts. Beds, hitherto mapped as Dubrajpurs and 1I0W shown to contain Glossopteris and Vuttbraria should be included in the Lower Gondwanas. 2.1.4 Si"grauli Coalfied A new genus, viz., Alatocarpus is instituted to contain certain large platyspermic ~eeds. The species Samaropsis jcJ,zlim.is Saksena, 1955 from the South Rewa basin is also transferred to A/atocmpus. The Singrauli material contains A. indicus sp. novo (the typP species) some specimens comparable to A. (Sama,op.Jis) johillensis (Saksena) comb. nov,) and A/aIJcQ!pUS sp. 11. i;) suggesled that Samaropsis piTICtjmbti \\'alkorn, 1928 may also belong to A/alocarpus. The occurrence of the seeds and associ• ated plants on the age of the beds is briefly discussed. 2.1.5 Jharia Coalfield Tbe wood genera Barakaroxylon Surange and Mai,by, 1962 and lrzdox)/on Surange and :t\1aithy, 1963 are merged as the central and the 4 ) peripheral secretory canals, which distinguish these two genera, have been found in one and the same specimen. On the basis of priority the genus Barakarox)'lo'l has been retained. A new species Baraka7oxylolf monocanalosum has been instituted. It is characteris~d by the prr'sence of a single, central canal in the pith as opposed to B. }hariense which is characterised by a central canal and a number of peripheral canals. 2.1.6 Giridih Coalfield Four new species of fossil plants, viz , Gangamopteris oblancaolata sp. novo Euryphyllum olJovalum sp. nov., Dolianilia karharbJrensis sp. novo Buriadia /lorinii sp. novo have been recorded from the Karharbari beds of the Giridih Coalfield. 2.2 Sporae Dispersae 2.2.1 South Karanpura A systematic study of two miospore assemblages, one is from the shales associated with the Argada 'S' Seam, and the other is from another shale about 70 feet above the Argada IS' Seam, indicates that both the assemblages are palynologically more closely related to the Karharbari stage. 2.2.2 Johilla Coalfi'd A miospore assemblage containing 23 genera and 42 species from the Ganjra NalJa bt.ds is described. The genera Rugasaccites, Pach)saceus, Gondwanopollis and Rimospora are newly instituted. The stratigraphical position of the Ganjra Nalla beds is discussed in the light of the plant micro-and macrofossil evidences. 2.2.3 Dallongall) Coalfield On the basis of plant mt=gafo~siJs and the miospores recovered from the coal bearing beds the stratigraphical tosition of these beds in the Lower Gondwana succe~sion is discussed. 2.2.4 Jayanti Coalfield Miospore assemblages have been recorded for the first time from the matrix of two intercalated Talchir Boulder Beds.